Do you remember your high school gym class, or did you block it out, like most of us do?
Why was gym class so awful? It was the team sports, wasn’t it? You threw a group together based on their schedule and nothing else, and no one wanted to be there. Some had talent, some didn’t. But, everyone had to play.
Contrast that with being a member of a team. You have to try out and prove you have skills. Everyone there wants to be there. They are willing to work together to get the ball in the basket. A good coach can build a cohesive team that works as one, even as each individual has different responsibilities.
Employee relations is very much a team sport, and you want it to be a cohesive team instead of the gym class equivalent of picking teams. Here’s how to make your employee relations team win the championship.
To keep reading, click here: Employee Relations as a Team Sport
The worst part of gym class was when the teacher named 2 team captains to pick their teams to compete against each other. No one — no matter how physically inept — wanted to be the last person picked. I don’t know whether that process would, technically, be considered bullying, but it — certainly — was cruel. The last person picked would usually be someone physically handicapped or clinically obese, etc.
Your article and grannybunny’s post both stand against the perspective that the real value of gym class is to teach teamwork and good sportsmanship. I wonder how the workplace would be different if those skills actually were taught in school instead of having to be learned at work, and if bullying were not inculcated at school and then carried on into the workplace.
Being a person who prefers to limit physical exertion, I mainly hated gym class for the stupid outfit they forced you to wear (rompers and “gym” bloomers).sorry for dating myself. But I did participate because the gym instructors, I had made us participate in activities that everyone could do, despite their athletic ability. One key thing I did learn was that there was no I in the word team and despite differences, everyone could get their team to win if they all participated. Everyone today thinks they need to be recognized as individuals (I blame that on the push for trophies for all initiative). The best gym coach taught that participation was the better experience over being the “winner” of the event because you learned how to work with your teammates as a group together.
I think that’s the reason so many people claim unhappiness in their job because they expect to be surrounded by people who are completely similar to them, rather than learning to come together despite differences to achieve an end goal. Your coworkers are not necessarily your best buds but they are your fellow teammates. It does help if you have management personnel who knows how to motivate people to work together without favoritism.